the Netherlands: amsterdam

When I landed in Amsterdam I was in for a rude awakening...I hadn't checked the weather report before flying, but I assumed it would be summer weather, just like it was in kyiv, and Barcelona...it wasn't...AT ALL...it was only 15C! I was not prepared, to say the least...
I had the address of my hostel, and the name, but I didn't really know how to get there...so I went to the information desk, and the guy told me what to do...a quick train ride, then a quick walk...
I'm glad I knew the name and the directions, and I had google mapped it before arriving, otherwise it would've been very difficult to find...it was actually quite large, and quite new, but located in a residential area not so close to the city centre...plus they didn't have street signage pointing the way, as hostels that have been around for a while do...

Eventually I did get there, chatted with another girl in the room for a while, then tucked in for the night...
The next morning I was up early to make sure I got to the airport on time to pick up Katie for her first trip to Europe! As she arrived she told me she'd had a first class seat, how awesome is that???
We took her stuff back to the hostel, and left it in my room, as the clerk told us she would sleep in there that night...we got back early enough that we were able to eat breakfast before heading out...not much variety, and all carbs, but at least it was food...

The hostel had given me an information sheet when I checked in, telling which trams to take to go different places of interest to tourists...we used the information to find a tram to take us to an area called leidesplaan (sp?)...i didn't have a guidebook, so i was feeling rather naked...i'd located a bookstore close to this tram stop, so that was the first order of the morning...the bookstore dealt only with travel related books/maps/etc, totally awesome...they had a special deal going, so i got a couple travel journals along with my guidebooks...yahoo!

we spent the rest of the day just wandering wandering wandering...the city centre of amsterdam is built on and around canals, with small bridges going over each of them in many places...
we found anne frank's house at one point, but the line seemed awfully long, so we decided to come back later...when we came back later that evening, the line was still long, but quite a bit shorter than we'd seen earlier, so we joined up...it was really windy, so i was cold in only my t-shirt and skirt...

i visited anne frank's house with my family when i was only 11 years old (i think that's the right age?) and i remember thinking it was so small...i don't know why, but during this visit the house seemed quite big to me...that being said, considering the number of people who lived there, and weren't able to go outside at all or even out of just a few rooms, it is really small...8 people hid in a small part of the house, just missing the end of the war...it's still a mystery as to who turned them in to government officials...

we went to a pancake restaurant for dinner...a huge list of options for flavours, both savory and sweet...they aren't pancakes as american's think of them, more like blinis or crepes...we split a pancake with bacon and cheese, YUM...
on the way back to the hostel we bought 24 hour public transport passes on the tram, we hadn't been able to do it in the morning...considering katie had to deal with jet lag, she did really well and didn't seem tired at all...
the next morning we had the same breakfast at the hostel, then started walking...we wanted to take a few photos of places we'd seen from the tram the morning before...

we walked through one park, found a big supermarket, etc...in the supermarket i found the sprinkles section: YUM...how has this tradition not spread to other countries? who wouldn't want sprinkles on toast as breakfast??!!
after a while we caught a tram to the central train station...in front of the station are several places to hop on a tour boat, or park your bike...(there are bikes EVERYWHERE in amsterdam)...we followed one of the streets, which took us to a central platz called the dam...there is a palace on one side, a statue in the middle...the guidebook told us this is where demonstrations and big announcements take place...

after a bit of people watching we kept walking, eventually getting to the bloemenmarkt, which was originally a floating tulip market...it doesn't float anymore, but it's still huge...you can buy tulip bulbs, in any color or variety...tulips are my favourite flower, i would've bought them if i had been able to carry them with me...
we used free wifi at a nearby cafe, also warming up a bit...from there we walked to a company called gassan diamonds...the netherlands is one of the most popular places in the world to buy/sell diamonds, and this place offered a free tour of sorts...we got an explanation of how diamonds are made; we were also able to see artisans cutting diamonds and got an explanation as to how this works as well...the last part of the 'tour'  was in a secure room where our guide showed us diamonds...

he gave us the information (cut, clarity, carats, etc) about each diamond, then we were able to take a closer look...i have expensive taste :)...in the souvenir shop katie and i each took advantage of the free coffee/tea...
afterward we wandered a bit more, just to see where we would end up...we got to the central train station, and decided to hop on a tram just to see where it went...fun :)
after dinner at a thai place we went back to the pancake restaurant from the night before and indulged in a dessert pancake...YUM...

after returning from haarlem the next day, we hopped on another tram we hadn't ridden, this one went in a totally different direction...this one we rode all the way to the end, then went all the way back into the city...we found a new place to have dinner...meatballs for our main course, then two different dessert options...mini pancakes with ice cream and a big pancake with bananas and chocolate...YUM...
the next morning we had breakfast, then checked out of the hostel...we figured out how to store our bags at the central train station, then walked to one of the many canal boats for a tour...the boat we chose cost 8euro...on the other side of the same canal the boat tour cost 15euro...katie and i both wondered if it was really twice as good a tour...we both enjoyed the tour, even though it sprinkled from time to time...
as we got off the boat, we walked by a church and found the opening to be only five minutes away, so we stuck around...the inside of the church was pretty, i'm glad we saw it though it wasn't stunning...

we stopped at another random restaurant for lunch, i had steak...not the best steak i've had, but not awful...the best part of the meal was the brownie i had for dessert at another cafe...YUM...
from there we walked back to the train station, and left the city...